Best of 2018: The Heroes

Casee

Connor “Mad” Rogan from the Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews: Holy crap. Come to mama. Rogan was so unpredictable. Maybe one of the most unpredictable heroes that I have ever read. You never knew what he was going to do next. What you did know was that he would protect Nevada at all costs. He was literally quite mad. He would do things that had you raising your eyebrows one minute then laughing your ass off the next minute. It was hard to keep up at times. That’s why he was so lovable. You never knew what you were going to get. What you did know is that he loved Nevada.

Jamie Canning from the Him series by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy: I adored Jamie. He thought he was straight his entire life. Until he came back into contact with his best friend, Ryan Wesley. Then he realized that it wasn’t just black and white. Straight or gay. It was about who you loved. He was such a strong character. He didn’t back away from what people thought about him being gay. He didn’t like being in the closet with Wes because of his career. He wanted to show his feelings openly for the man he loved. He was just amazing.

Raphael from the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh: It’s not a secret that I was not a fan of Archangel’s Prophecy. However, I am still a fan of Raphael. He is so devoted to Elena, even when it becomes apparent that she’s ill. He doesn’t care if she’s not immortal, he will stand by her side. Die with her if he has to. His complete and utter devotion to Elena is only one reason I love Raphael so much and why I want him for my very own.

Jude from the True North series by Sarina Bowen: I wasn’t a huge fan of Jude in Bittersweet which is the first book in the series. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I just didn’t have feelings one way or the other. I wasn’t super excited for his book. I should have been. I love Jude. So much so that I know he deserved a better heroine than Sophie. He deserved someone who accepted him for who he was. He was an addict that fought every day to be sober. He was so heroic in his fight. He was so honest with himself that it was heartbreaking to read. It is impossible not to fall for Jude.

Greyson Storm from the Scorpius Syndrome series by Rebecca Zanetti: In a post-apocalypse world, Greyson Storm is King of Santa Barbara and the coast of what remains of California. He’s not called a King, but that’s what he is. He’s ruthless when it comes to the safety of his people. There are no second chances. If you bring harm to anyone that Grey is responsible, even if you are one of those people, action is swift. He is a predator, but also a protector.

Holly

Christian Ellison from Part-Time Lover (Part-Time Lover #2) by Lauren Blakely: I really loved how self-assured Christian was. He was comfortable in his own skin and unafraid to put himself out there. The way he was with his family and his heroine really melted me.

Garrett Daniels from Getting Schooled (Getting Some #1) by Emma Chase: Something about Garrett’s sense of humor and how he was with his kids (he’s a high school teacher) just really worked for me. I loved watching him reconnect with his high school sweetheart.

Trick Hardy from Wild Hunger (Phoenix Pack #7) by Suzanne Wright: I loved how determined Trick was to find his mate and how open to the bond he was. I also really liked how patient and understanding he was with her. He didn’t push her to give more than she could. It was sweet and pretty adorable. But he was still a badass.

Rowena

Michael Phan from The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: I really loved Michael Phan. The lengths he went to take care of his family. The amount of patience and then love that he had and felt toward Stella. The way that he loved Stella exactly as she is and not how everyone thinks she should be, accepted and loved the quirky parts of Stella’s personality was just freaking great. Oh man, I adored this man so much.

Connor “Mad” Rogan from the Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews: Meeting Connor Rogan and then finding out just how crazy he was had me laughing one minute and swooning the next. He’s arrogant and a bit of an alpha-hole but holy crap did all of that work for me. There’s one scene that had me cracking up so much when I first read Burn for Me and it’s the scene where Connor is laughing his head off at Nevada when she tells him about Augustine Montgomery and he’s like, “We used to call him Pancakes in college.” Haha, I have no idea why that scene was so freaking funny to me but it was and it cemented my love of all things Mad Rogan.

August West from Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan: I have been wanting a basketball romance for many, many months now (dare I say years?) because I wanted to marry my love of romance novels with my love of basketball and thanks to Kennedy Ryan, I now have August West. I loved getting to know him and seeing his love for Iris really shine through every missed opportunity and every road block that fell in their way. Gosh, he was seriously the best and he was even better because he played basketball and told Iris that if she were his, he’d play her at the 5 because she’d be the center of his world. Awwwwww….

Nate Kattenberger from Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen: Nate is a huge nerd who is richer than rich and he’s got the biggest crush on his assistant. I loved the way that Sarina Bowen handled Nate’s character. I loved that he was just as awkward in his book (4 books into the series) as he was when we first met him. That he was still a huge nerd and that didn’t change when he’s front and center. I loved how he loved Becca and his story just gave me all the feels. He’s just so freaking great.

Josh Im from Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren: Oh, Josh. I freaking loved Josh’s character. I loved his book and seeing him fall in love with his best friend. From beginning to end, I loved that Josh accepted Hazel as she was and was pissed when people would try to change her. I loved how patient he was with Hazel and how different he was from her. He did all of the little things for Hazel that I just loved to death and he seriously stood out from a lot of the heroes that I read this year. I freaking love him.

Quote of the Week

“You will be a wonderful queen. Kind, caring, compassionate. Strong, cunning, and ruthless when you need to be. But I can’t break my promise to myself. I won’t. Not even for you, highness.” The last word came out as a low whisper, but somehow, it shattered my heart more than if he had been shouting curses at me.”

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